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About First Night®

First Night revives the ancient traditions of marking the passage of time in a present day context. It was created by a group of civic-minded artists in Boston as a meaningful alternative to traditional New Year's Eve revelry. Offered to the city as the finale to its Bicentennial events in 1976, First Night Boston also began a new tradition, bringing neighboring communities together through a joint celebration.

First Night Missoula

First Night® Missoula was chartered in 1994, and has produced highly successful New Year's Eve events for fifteen consecutive years. Funds are raised locally through donations, grants, sponsorships, and button sales.

Each First Night festival is produced by a local non-profit organization. First Night Missoula is produced by the Missoula Cultural Council (MCC), which serves as a resource for the coordination, development and support of art and culture for the benefit the Missoula community, with the goals of:

• Advocating for public and private support of the arts and cultural activities
  
• Encouraging collaborative efforts among local art organizations
  
• Educating community leaders and policy makers about the economic benefits of the arts
  
• Celebrating the value of diverse cultures and helping our community understand its place in the world

A masterpiece produced by the Ice Carving Chefs during First Night Missoula 2008.

MCC's g oals for First Night are to create an accessible, affordable, alcohol-free New Year's Eve celebration for the entire family. Performances and art displays at 30 venues from noon to midnight on December 31st, broaden public appreciation of local and culturally diverse visual and performing arts. First Night enhances a sense of community through shared tradition and celebration of human achievement.

To support First Night Missoula or for more information, including volunteer opportunities, call Debby Florence or Tom Bensen at 532-3240, or send an e-mail.

The Four Pillars of First Night

First Night is about Community, Celebration, the New Year, and Art.

Community

First Night provides a strong vehicle to recreate the sense of community most of our cities have lost, and offers the potential of strengthening communal ties and of uniting people. It helps people rediscover their city, learn about diverse cultures and get acquainted with old traditions. First Night is an occasion to celebrate ourselves, to reflect upon our cultural diversity and the beauty of our city.

At First Night, the arts take front and center stage in the life of the city. In preparation of the event, artists involve members of the community in innovative projects and pageantry, as well as create works that invite public participation and interaction during the festival.

The events location, in the heart of the city, offers a safe, festive route that is transformed into a spectacle of light, sound and compelling imagery.

The New Year

First Night is a celebration of the New Year. It marks the passage of time from the old year to the new each December 31st. It derives its strength from the human capacity to make new beginnings. New beginnings bring hope. First Night sets in motion our hopes for the future both individually and collectively as a community.

As a time-specific festival, First Night incorporates rituals and thematic elements unique and appropriate to this passage. At the stroke of midnight, our spirits soar high as we welcome the New Year with family and friends. We return home with a renewed sense of communal pride and feelings of appreciation, participation and discovery. Remembering our uncommon experience, we look forward to this annual ritual.

The Arts

First Night is an invention of artists and it is their trust in the power of the arts to bring about communal harmony that distinguishes this particular celebration from other civic events. The arts play an important role in First Night because of their capacity to transform, to inspire, to enrich and to engage. They transcend boundaries of race, age, gender and social status.

First Night provides a platform for musicians, poets, storytellers, dancers, actors, puppeteers and visual and media artists to showcase the city’s cultural landscape. This is the time to bring the rich variety of arts to all the people in the community.

New Year's Traditions Around the World :

The Missoula Cultural Council and UM Foreign Students and
Scholars Services is pleased to feature stories from some of Missoula's international residents and visitors. Click on the
countries below to read stories about New Year's celebrations intheir communities.